Falling Leaf
by Little Miss Issa
Summary: A story of a young girl and her journey to becoming a shinobi.
1. One - Red Daises and Baby's Breath

**Notes:** My first fan fiction post . . . Oh, boy. We'll see where this will get me. I don't mean for this to be a full-on OC x cannon story, since the focus will mainly be about my character and not on the romance part of it. (Though future chapters may prove otherwise - However, that won't be for a while.) It's been a while since I've actually sat down and written a story, so you'll have to forgive me as I work my way back into the motion of it. In the meantime, I hope what I create will be palatable enough for you to enjoy.

 **Disclaimer:** All canon characters belonging to "Naruto" (i.e Kakashi Hatake) are property of Masashi Kishimoto. The original character(s) (i.e Aiko Yukimura, Noboru Yukimura, Katsuo, Yuuto, etc, etc) and plot belong to the Author. There is no profit being made in the creation of this series. It's just all for creative fun!

 **Rating:** Teen, though rating may go up as the story progresses. (For violence and dark themes only- you'll never find NSFW material here.)

 **Inspiration:** The amazing characters and story of Naruto that was produced by the amazingly talented Masashi Kishimoto as well as music. ""綠野仙蹤" by 陳悅 what inspired this series. (I can see this being the Protagonist's theme.)

 **Summary:** A peek into Aiko's early childhood and her developing dream of becoming a great Shinobi of the Leaf. See as she grows and matures from her trails and overcoming adversity.

* * *

 **Chapter One**

 _"Red Daises and Baby's Breath"_

It was a beautiful morning - the birds were chirping and the clouds above were tugged along a beautiful blue sky by a breeze that blew from the east. The villagers of Konoha were out and about, going down their laundry list of things they had to get done, whether it be Shinobi preparing for missions or regular villagers taking care of errands that needed to be tended to for the home.

The Yukimura family were no exception, as they journeyed through the streets to prepare things for their visit to their mother who was gravely ill in the hospital. However, the only child and daughter of the family, Aiko, had wondered off from her father's side to investigate the beautiful flowers at the shop across the way from the vegetable stand that her dad was doing business with. She was only four, her hair red and messy and wore wore her usual outfit of an oversize shirt that once belonged to her father, altered to fit her better so not to cause her swim so much in it, and a dark red scarf with a matching silk headband.

"Mommy would like these ones!" Aiko said excitedly after looking over the variety of bouquets of roses and daffodils until she came across one with red daisies and white baby's breath.

"That one is lovely," an older woman said from behind her.

Aiko spun around before she hid her face behind the high collar of her shirt and placed her hands in front of her blushing cheeks when she saw the lady that was speaking to her. The old woman laughed. "No need to be bashful, my child. I love to hearing someone appreciate my arrangements."

The little girl didn't respond but continued to blush and avert her eyes shyly. The woman walked passed her and grabbed a small bouquet of the red daisies and baby's breath before holding it out to her. "You're the Yukimura's daughter, aren't you? Aiko, I believe it was? I hear your mother is still in the hospital and I'm sure she'd love it if you'd bring this to her."

Aiko hesitated for a moment, but gently took the bouquet and bowed graciously. "Thank you, ma'am," she said in a quiet voice. "Mommy's still really sick so my daddy and I are going to make her a really yummy dinner tonight. He said that might make her feel better faster. Do you think these will help mommy come home?"

The old woman looked tenderly at the young girl and smiled sweetly. "Well, we'll find that out once you give them to her now, won't we? I'm sure they'll at least put a smile on her face."

The red haired girl smiled back at her. "Yeah! I feel happy when mommy smiles! Thank you again!" She bowed once more and ran out of the store with a happy skip in her step.

"Hold on Aiko! Wait for me!" Her father called after her when he saw what had happened between her and the shop keeper. "Thank you for doing that for her; I saw the whole thing. Here, let me help pay for those-"

"Oh, nonsense, Noboru! To see that little one so happy and hopeful was payment enough . . . How is Keiko doing now-and-days? Has she improved at all?"

Noboru was about to answer before drawing in a deep breath and sighing. "It will be a while before the hospital can let her go. They've got more tests to run and a few more treatments they want to try. So, in answer to your question . . . Not exactly."

The flower shop owner looked sympathetically at Aiko's father and placed a loving hand on his arm. "My prayers are with you and your family, Noboru. Do send Keiko my love, won't you?"

"You bet," he responded with a smile. "Thank you again for the beautiful flowers. I'm sure Keiko will love them. If you'll excuse me, I need to find where my kid ran off to before she gets into any trouble. Have a good day."

"Same to you, dear."

Noboru waved and exited the building and looked both ways to see if he could spot his daughter . . . But she was gone. He groaned. "Now where did that little troublemaker run off to?"

Aiko happily skipped down the road with her new flowers in hand, humming a merry tune before coming to a stop when something yellow and round caught her attention down a fenced pathway. With a gleeful giggle, she skipped over to investigate. She stared at the ball for a moment before looking both ways to see if the owner was nearby. When none could be seen, she gingerly put down the bouquet of daises and picked up the ball to bounce it once to test it out. With a smile, she threw it against the fence across from her and bounced back to her arms. Its' bounce was perfect . . . So perfect, she couldn't help but use all of her strength to throw it again and sent it chaotically ricocheting against the fences lining the path until BLAM! The ball came to a sudden halt in someone's hand.

The young girl gasped and blushed furiously as she saw that the ball had nearly hit a silver-haired boy with a mask covering his nose and mouth in the head. She was lucky his reflexes were so fast. The boy looked at Aiko with one eye as the other was covered by his village headband. He was older than her, only by a small margin, but enough to cause her to feel fearful when she saw a glint of annoyance in his eye. "Careful, kid. You'll take someone out if you're not careful," he said as he walked toward her to return her ball.

Aiko blushed harder as the boy came near her. "S-sorry," she squeaked apologetically as tears of embarrassment rushed to her blue eyes.

The boy softened his expression when he saw how flustered she was and sighed quietly. "Don't worry about it, kid. You were only playing- no harm done." He placed the yellow ball in her hands and she bowed graciously. The masked boy noticed the flowers and pointed to them. "Those yours?"

Aiko nodded, avoiding eye-contact. "They're for my mom. Me and my dad are going to go see her at the hospital today."

"Oh, yeah? What happened to her?" The boy asked, slowly gentling his demeanor as he spoke.

"She got really sick, so we had to go see a doctor to make her feel better. She's been in there for a really long time," Aiko explained only slightly glancing up at the stranger.

"Oh . . . I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. Dad and the flower lady say that making her happy with make her feel better and those will help her to smile . . . And that will help her come home sooner!" Aiko blushed and smiled.

The boy's malice had completely melted from him than as he listened to the girl speak. She was so cute and sweet . . . The masked boy placed a hand on her head and smiled. "You're very sweet for doing that for her. She's really lucky to have someone as strong and brave as you to watch over her."

Aiko's cheeks burned when the boy touched the top of her head and her heart bounded in her chest. She clenched the ball close to her chest and she swallowed hard. "I'm not always brave, though," she admitted in a small voice.

"Huh?" The boy gave her a questionable look.

"I sometimes get really scared that mommy won't come home. Daddy got really hurt one time when the bad people attacked us, and mommy was really worried that daddy wouldn't come home. I get really scared that the same thing will happen to mommy . . . That she might not come home like daddy almost did." Aiko quickly wiped her nose and sniffed. "But I smile and be happy because that makes my mommy and daddy happy . . . And being happy makes you feel better, right?"

The boy blinked as he let her words soak in for a moment. He thought for a while and carefully considered his words before kneeling down to met her at eye-level. "It is really important to keep the ones you care about happy. It's great to see that you care so much about them that you're willing to do that for them. It's sometimes hard to be brave . . . I know that personally . . . But there may come a time where your courage will really be tested and you're going to make the choice of either becoming bitter because of what happened, or growing from them by accepting it how it is. I'm not saying that your mom won't get better and come back home . . . I'm just warning you that if she doesn't, you'll need to be prepared for it."

Aiko looked at the boy and sniffled. "Did someone not come home for you?"

The masked boy looked at her sadly and nodded once. "It was really hard . . . But I've come to terms with it."

She stared at him for a moment before looking down sadly. "Was it hard?"

"It's been very hard, yes . . . and it's taken a long time for those wounds to heal up . . . I'm not even sure if I'm completely over it . . . But eventually you'll realize that what's happened has happened and the best thing you can do is grow and learn from it. The best way I can describe is imagining it like a sling-shot: You can't spring forward without being pulled back," the boy explained with a sad smile.

Aiko's lips slowly curved into a gentle smile and nodded slightly as she thought about his words.

The boy patted her head again and stood up. "Keep your chin up, kid. Don't let this get you down. Just keep moving forward and you'll make it though even the toughest storms." He waved and started to walk away, that was until Aiko called after him.

"Wait! What was your name, mister?"

He stopped and turned his head toward his shoulder. "Kakashi . . . Hatake Kakashi."

Aiko smiled. "Thank you, Kakashi."

He smiled one last time before walking again down the dirt path toward town. Aiko admirably watched him depart when suddenly-

"THERE IT IS!" A voice cried from behind Aiko- and before she knew it, the ball was kicked from her hands and launched at an alarming speed toward Kakashi's head before he knew it was even coming and nailed him hard.

Aiko stood there, stunned and sweating profusely as she realized what had just unfolded in front of her.

Kakashi placed a hand on the back of his head and slowly turned around with a grumbled, "Ow."

"Ha-ha! That one was probably the fastest one yet! Did you see that, Yuuto?" The boy who had kicked the ball exclaimed proudly to his friend.

"I saw it, Katsuo . . . And I don't think that guy appreciated it very much," the boy named Yuuto pointed out with his index finger extended toward Kakashi.

"Hm? You mean the guy with the stupid looking hair?" Katsuo asked with a snort. "Yeah right! I bet he'll come over and bow down to the amount of power that had!"

SMACK!

The yellow ball came rocketing back toward the boy named Katsuo it and nailed him straight on the nose, sending him flat on his back. Aiko jumped back and alternated between the nearly unconscious boy and Kakashi who started to casually walk away again, as if nothing had happened.

"Aiko! There you are!" Noboru called from the end of the pathway. "Don't wander off like that! We've got to get to the hospital before it gets much later! Come on!"

Quickly grabbing her bouquet, the young girl ran to meet up with her father, leaving the two rowdy boys behind.


	2. Two - A Tender Visit

**Notes:** Didn't have time to edit it, so here it is raw! I'll come back later tomorrow to fix it up!

 **Disclaimer:** All canon characters belonging to "Naruto" (i.e Kakashi Hatake) are property of Masashi Kishimoto. The original character(s) (i.e Aiko Yukimura, Noboru Yukimura, Katsuo, Yuuto, etc, etc) and plot belong to the Author. There is no profit being made in the creation of this series. It's just all for creative fun!

 **Rating:** Teen, though rating may go up as the story progresses. (For violence and dark themes only- you'll never find NSFW material here.)

 **Inspiration:** The amazing characters and story of Naruto that was produced by the amazingly talented Masashi Kishimoto as well as music. ""綠野仙蹤" by 陳悅 was what inspired this series. (I can see this being the Protagonist's theme.)

 **Summary:** A peek into Aiko's early childhood and her developing dream of becoming a great Shinobi of the Leaf. See as she grows and matures from her trails and overcoming adversity.

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

 _"A Tender Visit"_

The sun was resting behind the valley the west, slowly hiding away beyond the trees for the night. The Yukimura family were working away at home to pack up a freshly prepared meal and head over to the hospital. Aiko did what she could to help, though it was mostly simple jobs like stirring the broth or getting another pot from the cabinets. Regardless, she felt happy to contribute in any way she could.

"So, Aiko . . . I saw you playing with some boys earlier today. Why haven't you told me about them?" Noboru asked with a playful risen eyebrow while he rolled out some rice for some rice balls. "Don't tell me you have secret boyfriends."

Aiko blushed furiously and huffed. "Ew! They're not my boyfriend! I don't even know who they are!" She exclaimed back angrily.

Noboru laughed. "I was only kidding. I'm happy to see that you play with the other kids."

"We weren't playing," Aiko said with her nose in the air. "They were being dumb and hurt someone I was talking to."

"Oh? What happened?"

Aiko went on to explain the whole situation, from her finding the ball to smacking Kakashi on the back of the head. Noboru listened to every word and nodded intently. "You're a really lucky girl to have talked to Kakashi Hatake," he finally said once she was finished. "I don't know if you knew, but he fought the same bad guys I did."

The little red head's eyes lite up. "R-really? He fought too?"

Noboru nodded. "It was actually because of him and Minato's squad that we were ultimately able to win the war. He's an incredibly talented and strong shinobi for someone his age. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I was a little jealous of his accomplishments."

Aiko smiled and clenched her fists tightly. "I want to become strong like him! I want to be a great shinobi too! Just like you and Kakashi!"

Her father looked down at her with gentle, caring eyes. "That's a big dream that you've got there, kiddo. You're going to need to work really hard if you want to get to that level."

"I can do it! I bet I can get really good really fast! Will you teach me, dad?" She looked hopefully up at her father, eyes burning passionately.

Noboru took a moment to look at her and study her expression. "Wow, you're already that determined, huh? You're definitely your father's daughter." He chuckled. "I can teach you what I can, but you have to practice every single day and study a lot. It will probably take you a while before you can perfectly master all that you need to learn to become a real shinobi. Do you promise me that you'll work hard and practice if I teach you?"

Aiko nodded furiously. "I will, I will! I'll make you really proud, dad! I promise!"

He patted her head tenderly. "You say that as if you haven't already." He smiled brightly. "All right, I don't see I can't teach you basics tomorrow morning. Will that be okay?"

"Yeah! I'm ready!"

"Good. We'll plan it than! Help me wrap these up and we'll head over to the hospital. I'm sure your mother is wondering where we are."

They gathered up their food and the bouquet that Aiko had acquired earlier that day, and headed over to Konoha's hospital.

It was quiet in the hospital room. The food was finished a beautiful red-haired woman was resting peacefully on her bed. Aiko sat next to her with a smile on her face as she told her about her day and what her father and she were planning to do. "That's quite the task, sweet pea. You're father won't go easy on you." She warned her in a weak voice.

"I know! I don't want him to! I want to learn how to be a great ninja and invent my own jutsu like Kakashi!" Aiko said excitedly.

Keiko laughed. "I've never seen you so ambitious. I swear you're becoming more and more like your father every day."

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" Noboru asked with a devious smile.

"I haven't decided yet," she replied winking at him.

Aiko giggled. "Do you like your flowers, mommy?" She pointed to the vase of red daisies and baby's breath on her night stand happily.

"I love them, sweetheart. Every time I look at them, they remind me of you and your dad and that makes me very happy."

"And . . . Being happy makes you feel better, right?"

"Right. I can feel myself getting better now."

"Really?" Aiko squeaked excitedly. "Does that mean you'll come home with me and dad?"

"Well . . . Not exactly. I've still got to do a few things before I can leave. It probably be a while longer before that can happen."

Aiko looked down disappointingly. "Oh . . . O-okay."

Keiko leaned forward to gently kiss her daughter's head. "I love you so much, sweet pea. No matter what happens, I'll always be with you. As long as you'll remember me, I'll always have a home with you."

The young girl smiled and nodded. "Okay. I will."

Noboru smiled weakly and walked over to the basin at the end of the room. "Hey, Aiko. Can you get mommy some more water? We're going to need to leave soon and we don't want to leave her without something to wash herself with."

"Okay!" Aiko exclaimed and jumped from the bed to go do what her father asked, leaving the couple alone in the room.

Noboru looked at Keiko who slumped back to her bed, looking pale and sickly. "How are you, sweet?" He asked as he sad on the edge of her bed.

"It's getting worse, Noboru. I barely have the strength to speak . . . I'm so worried about Aiko. I don't know how she'll take this."

"Don't say that. I can't let you give up just yet. The doctors still have a few more treatments they want to try. I really think one of them may work."

"Noboru . . . Stop. We both know how this is going to turn out. They've tried everything, and nothing has worked. You know as well as I do that I've only got a year left in me, if even that."

He wanted to argue with her, tell her that she was wrong and that she was going to pull through . . . But he'd be lying to himself and her. "Aiko still needs you. Have you away from home already breaks her heart . . . She doesn't show it very often, but I know, even passed this mask she puts on, she's upset about it. Plus, I don't know if I'd be able to raise her on my own. I don't think I'd be a very good single parent . . . I mean, I can barely take care of myself. I just . . . I can't bare the thought of losing one of the most precious things in my life. You and Aiko are the reason I'm able to get up in the morning and the reason I come home at night. I can't . . . I don't want-"

Keiko placed a weak but loving hand on his arm. "Aiko needs her father. You've raised her over the last few months so well that I'm at piece knowing she'll be under your care. I have every faith you'll guide her down a path that will make me proud." Noboru started to tremble as tears filled his eyes. "Just as I said to Aiko, as long as you keep me close to your heart, and keep me present in your minds, I'll never leave."

With a quiet sob, Noboru threw his arms around his wife and held her close. "I love you so much."

"I love you more, darling . . ." She gently stroked the back of his head as he continued to sob.

"I-is daddy okay?" a small voice asked from the door, a pitcher full of water in her hands.

Noboru wiped away the tears and looked toward Aiko with a smile. "Everything's fine, hun. I just got a little wasabe in my eye."

She looked at her father than her mother and instantly knew he was lying, but chose not to say anything. "Okay. Here's your water, mommy."

"Thank you, sweetie. Go ahead and leave it in the banister and you two better start to head home. It's getting late and you two have a big day ahead of you."

"Right," Noboru replied with a nod. "Let's gather up the food and we'll head home. Say goodbye to mommy and we'll come see her again next week."

Aiko crawled into her bed and wrapped her small arms around her neck and held her tight. "Please come home. I miss you," she whispered tenderly and kissed her on the cheek before hoping down and running toward her dad.

With a kiss good-bye between the parents, they headed back home to get an early start the next morning.


End file.
